Barn cats in the Turkey Creek area of Clay County pause to see what is happening outside their barn. This property is owned by Laville Sharp, daughter of Lester Brown, and is now operated by James Hamilton. (Heather Burnette photo)

A couple of Clay County natives have their photos included in a new book, “Barns of Tennessee,” published earlier this year by “Tennessee Magazine.”

Heather Burnette and Kristi (Pennington) Shirah had a total of three photos published in the book. Two of the three were from barns located in Clay County, with another showing a barn in Trousdale County. 

Shirah had a pair of photos in the 160-page book, while Burnette had one. Shirah’s two photos included one from the Moss community and one near Hartsville, while Burnette’s showed cats looking through some broken boards in a barn in the Turkey Creek area. 

“Generations of Tennesseans are indelibly linked to their barns,” says promotional material for the book. “Tennessee farms and their barns have lived, flourished and died together for centuries. Today they are disappearing faster than ever. Many farms and their structures are being lost to deterioration or development. In honor of Tennessee’s agrarian history, the staff of The Tennessee Magazine, The Donning Company Publishers and authors Caneta Hankins and  Michael Gavin have produced a book documenting photographically Tennessee’s barns.”

The magazine had thousands of photos submitted for publication, and the field was narrowed to 375 for publication.  Each photograph, as space allowed, had captions detailing where the barn was located, and a bit of its history. 

The Tennessee Magazine is published monthly by the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association, and has a circulation of over 500,000 people around the world. 

For more information on the book or to purchase a copy, you can contact the TECA at (615) 367-9284, at P. O. Box 100912, Nashville, TN 37224, or online at www.tnelectric.org.

In 1957, Dave Hestand built a gambrel-roof barn in the Moss community of Clay County, and hosted rodeos, bull riding contests and even the local fair. Current owner Jerry McLerran uses the building to shelter cattle and dry tobacco. (Kristi Shirah photo)

Bovine residence of River Circle Farm in Trousdale County grazes cattle on Martha Dickson's property, where a 1920 barn is among the several out buildings that support the cattle and farming. (Kristi Shirah photo)